Generate more sales - getting started
Welcome back to Part 2 of our "A Call to Action" Series for entrepreneurs, startup business owners and B2B Sales people looking to generate more sales and build on what's working. In Part 1 of this series we looked at creating a hook, how to start with an MBP and then adapt that into a product that hits the sales numbers and has you heading on the road to pass your "break even numbers".
How do you transform your business with more sales?
There are three clear ways to boost your sales margins:
1. Decrease your costs or 2. Increase your Price and 3. Close more Sales.
1. The first action requires you to improve efficiency and decrease costs as effectively as you can. In the ever over inflated economy decreasing costs might be best managed over the long term. The inclusion over time of new technologies and streamlined systems to better manage your to market processes can significantly reduce costs and increase your margins. Every iteration (or change cycle) should add efficiency, reduce costs and improve the experience for your customers.
2. The second action is, how do you increase your selling price without pricing yourself out of the market?
What do you do if you can’t increase your sales price as this would likely cost you business? Without offering real value to your prospects you'll be stuck with positional selling where you put your price forward and then prospect asks for more, or worse a discount.
Reducing costs will take time, and moving to value based pricing will take skill and effort so what can you do? You’ll have to increase your sales then, right? When it comes to increasing your sales, there are seemingly endless ways to attract new customers, all carrying varying costs with different returns on investment.
As a new start up business where do you start and what method will work best for your business?
3. Heres some insight you might consider:
• Can you describe your prospects problems?
• Are you able to match your service to meet these problems?
• Have you developed a story that is concise and helps your customer relate?
• What testing platforms will you use to send your message out?
• What is your pricing strategy?
• Have you got a fall back plan or can you adapt to a different market?
Once you know who is going to buy your products and services and why, you can then figure out a clear message and how that message relates to your company’s business story. You want that message to be heard and there’s no better way to build relationships then to make a possible customer laugh, that’s right use some humour. People buy from people, they relate to.
Create your story to help your customer understand your product or service. Yes you can use clever marketing, a funny catch phrase, something a little different, as you’re going to need to stand out in the crowd. Importantly you're going to need to solve your prospects problem, your stories should help your customers see how they can solve those problems.
Then start to TEST, TEST and TEST, always be testing. Testing offers you the insight you’re going to need to answer: Why do different segments of the market respond and others not? Which message suits which demographic and why? Then if all else fails what’s your backup plan, are you prepared to lower your price to increase your sales? Of course not right? So you’ll need to ensure your message is clear and concise and that the value of your offer is understood so that you’ll be able to actually increase your prices.
When selling in a B2B environment you’d like your prospects to take some notice of you because you know very well that your service or product is right for that customer. Most business owners think in terms of dollars, if you’ve heard of dollarisation then you’ll know, that a business owner can relate to a dollarised representation of your service or product. Understanding your prospects needs is the most important aspect in transforming your business to grow more sales. Understanding how your offer impacts that business is even more important and will lead you closer to making those sales and growing your business.
Here's a good example in a professional service setting: If you sell a service that helps a Procurement Manager source pricing, identify new suppliers, or even specialise in a specific process. Assuming your prospect already has a procurement processes in place they trust, then how could you offer them your service? Here's how: You can simply relate to the needs of a Procurement Manager that's how. Procurement Managers are interested in a variety of outcomes, all to meet their company objectives and usually to efficiently and effectively purchase the products and or services they need to service their own customers.
If your procurement process actually saves the Procurement Manager 20% efficiency in time, then immediately you know that if this procurement manager earns $84,000 per annum or $43.75 per hour, then if your service offering is incorporated by the business it will save the company money, but how much? If the company spends 40 hrs per month on vendor selection purchases, which your system specialises in, and which saves this prospect 8 hrs per month, a saving or $4,200 per year or 5% reduction in costs is generated.
If your price for this service is 20% of the generated reduction costs or $840 then the net difference and cost savings by implementing your service is $3360 per year. An important point to make is that for every month your prospect goes without your service it costs the business $280 every month.
You can dollarise almost any offer and you can certainly show the differences between price and costs. You might be surprised to learn the difference between the price of the product and the cost to buy that product over a certain period of time. Start thinking buying a car, sticker price verse cost to run and service over say a three year period. You'll soon learn a more expensive price could be a cheaper cost.
Here’s Our Call To Action: Want to learn more about Dollarising and how it can put your business over the top of your competition? Why not contact one of our experienced Sales Agents to learn how to build a dollarised approach to selling. We’ll give you the insight for FREE! Email us at support@transeo.com.au with your question on dollarising your product or service.
All the best and Good selling out there!
You've just read the Series:
A Call to Action - Part 2 of 6: Generate more sales - getting started?
Go to Part 3 in the Series: http://transeo.com.au/blog/are-your-leads-turning-up-gold?
Go to Part 1 in the Series: http://transeo.com.au/blog/are-your-sales-on-the-road-to-success?
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About the Author
About Adam Mole
Adam is the proprietor of start up BPO company Transeo and has been working with offshore and outsourcing services for more than 20 years. Adam is passionate about small business. He likes to write about his experiences in sales and startup business ventures. In his spare time you'll find him on one of Sydney's south coast beaches surfing and smiling. Email Adam at adam.mole@transeo.com.au and follow Adam on Twitter @adam_transeo.
